Kalanchoe blossfeldiana cultivar Soret.
The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Kalanchoe plant, botanically known as Kalanchoe blossfeldiana, and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Soretxe2x80x99.
The new Kalanchoe is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in De Lier, The Netherlands. The objective of the breeding program was to create new freely-branching and freely-flowering Kalanchoe cultivars with attractive foliage and flower coloration.
The new Kalanchoe originated from a cross made by the Inventor in 1998 of the Kalanchoe blossfeldiana cultivar Mount Loa, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,026, as the female, or seed, parent with the Kalanchoe blossfeldiana cultivar Carran, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The cultivar Soret was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in De Lier, The Netherlands.
Asexual reproduction of the new Kalanchoe by terminal vegetative cuttings taken at De Lier, The Netherlands, since 1999 has shown that the unique features of this new Kalanchoe are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
The cultivar Soret has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength and light intensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Soretxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Soretxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Numerous, large, and orange-colored flowers.
2. Upright and uniform plant habit.
3. Freely branching growth habit.
4. Dark green and glossy leaves.
5. Early flowering.
6. Excellent postproduction longevity.
Plants of the new Kalanchoe can be compared to plants of the female parent, the cultivar Mount Loa. In side-by-side comparisons conducted by the Inventor in De Lier, The Netherlands, plants of the new Kalanchoe differed from plants of the cultivar Mount Loa in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Kalanchoe were larger and more vigorous than plants of the cultivar Mount Loa.
2. Plants of the new Kalanchoe had larger leaves than plants of the cultivar Mount Loa.
3. Flower color of plants of the new Kalanchoe was softer orange than flower color of plants of the cultivar Mount Loa.
4. Plants of the new Kalanchoe flowered earlier than plants of the cultivar Mount Loa.
Plants of the new Kalanchoe can be compared to plants of the male parent, the cultivar Carran. In side-by side comparisons conducted by the Inventor in De Lier, The Netherlands, plants of the new Kalanchoe differed from plants of the cultivar Carran in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Kalanchoe were larger than plants of the cultivar Carran.
2. Flower color of plants of the new Kalanchoe was softer orange than flower color of plants of the cultivar Carran.
3. Plants of the new Kalanchoe flowered later than plants of the cultivar Carran.
Plants of the new Kalanchoe are similar in flower color to plants of the Kalanchoe cultivar Sofie, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,381. In side-by-side comparisons conducted by the Inventor in De Lier, The Netherlands, plants of the new Kalanchoe differed from plants of the cultivar Sofie in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Kalanchoe were more vigorous than plants of the cultivar Sofie.
2. Plants of the new Kalanchoe were more freely branching and more uniform in plant habit than plants of the cultivar Sofie.
3. Flower color of plants of the new Kalanchoe was softer orange than flower color of plants of the cultivar Sofie.
4. Plants of the new Kalanchoe flowered earlier than plants of the cultivar Sofie.